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University of Maryland Joins Grand Coalition to Support Paris Agreement Climate Action

University of Maryland Joins Grand Coalition to Support Paris Agreement Climate Action

The University of Maryland has united with over 1,000 leaders from across the country to reaffirm its continued support of climate action by joining the “We Are Still In” coalition. College and university leaders, as well as mayors, governors, businesses, and investors have pledged to forge ahead on climate action to meet the Paris Agreement.

“Sustainability has become a way of life for our campus, as students, faculty and staff commit to the future of our planet,” said University of Maryland President Wallace D. Loh. “Faculty and students are at the forefront of climate research. We made a promise and commitment to carbon neutrality. We’re keeping it.”

In December 2015 in Paris, world leaders signed the first global commitment to fight climate change. The landmark agreement succeeded where past attempts failed because it allowed each country to set its own emission reduction targets and adopt its own strategies for reaching them. In addition, nations - inspired by the actions of local and regional governments, along with businesses - began to realize that fighting climate change brings significant economic and public health benefits.

With the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, a broad and sizeable cross section of the U.S. economy will pursue ambitious climate goals, working together to take action and ensure that the U.S. remains a global leader in reducing emissions.

The University of Maryland became a charter signatory of the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment (now called the Carbon Commitment) in 2007 and finished its first Climate Action Plan in 2009 with the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. The university has met its initial goals on the path to carbon neutrality by achieving a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2015. The next target is a 50 percent reduction by 2020.